Town beefs up alert system

Dumfries, Va. -- Dumfries has a quarterly newsletter, a Web site and recently added a Facebook page and a Twitter account, all in an attempt to better communicate with its residents.

Soon it also will add an emergency communication system residents can be notified within minutes of time-sensitive situations such as severe weather or public safety issues.

The town has been in a budget crunch for several months now and does not have as many police officers or resources as it has had in the past, "but we still have a need and we cannot always rely on the county to support us immediately. This would just be one more tool to alert the residents of a situation," said Dumfries Assistant Town Manager Cathy Holtzlander, who researched the issue and presented the staff recommendation to the town council to purchase the system for a year.

Holtzlander said she wants the system up and running before the active spring weather season begins.

In May 2008, a spring storm brought Quantico Creek out of its banks, flooding portions of Mine Road and Main Street, where some residents had to be evacuated. That same month the town was under a tornado warning from a different storm. A tornado did touch down in Stafford County, damaging several homes.

"This system can advise folks about any kind of weather situation," Holtzlander said. "It could provide information about where an evacuation center would be and emergency shelter information."

The town also could use the emergency communication system to spread non-emergency information.

"We could use it to remind residents when tax bills are due, invite them to a town council meeting or a local event," she said.

The Dumfries Town Council recently approved spending $3,247 for the use of the system for a year.

"I was able to sell it, even though we are in a budget crisis, because we will be able to split the cost between all the departments since it will benefit all of them," she said. About $650 will be used from each of the town's five departments' budgets to pay for the system, Holtzlander said.

The town has chosen the Blackboard Connect Emergency Communication System. The company will soon send citizen participation surveys to all 1,678 households within the town. These residents will be asked how they wish to be notified: by home phone, work phone, cell phone, text message or e-mail. Residents can also opt out all together.

Once the system is in place, the town will be able to track their messages to ensure they are received.

"The cost equates to $1.91 per residence. It's a minimal cost which could be utilized for the safety of the residents," Holtzlander.

"Anything we can do [or] get that improves the flow of information, we are going to do our best to do it," she said.

Prince William County's Community Alert Network, which is similar, has been in place for a few years.

Staff writer Aileen Streng can be reached at 703-988-8010.